By Heidi Aronson
Roseli Ocampo-Friedmann was born in 1937 in Manila, Philippines. She earned a degree in botany from the University of the Philippines in 1958, a masters degree at Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1966, and a PhD in biology from Florida State University in Tallahassee in 1973. In 1987, she became a professor at Florida A&M University. Ocampo-Friedmann specialized in the study of cyanobacteria and extremophilic microorganisms. She is most noted for discovering and culturing cryptoendoliths. These microorganisms can survive cold, rehydrate, and photosynthesize after thawing during warmer seasons in the Antarctic Dry Valleys. Friedmann Peak, in the Darwin Mountains of Antarctica, is named after her and is where she discovered endolithic microorganisms. Throughout her career, Ocampo-Friedmann collected over 1,000 types of microorganisms from extreme environments.
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